Special Issue: Making as Method: Reimagining Traditional and Indigenous Notions of “Craft” in Research Practice

Abstract

In this special issue of “making as method” we aim to help shift the cultural narrative about craft by celebrating a diverse range of creative researchers who disrupt Western ways of knowing, celebrate a reclaiming of Indigenous knowledge and methods, provide space for decolonising practices, and in this digital age, reimagine traditional and Indigenous notions of craft in research. These authors in this issue all theorise their craft and provide, a rich and varied theoretical justification for “making as method.”

The Cultural Landscape of Komi Art and Design Before and After the Relate North 2019 Symposium and Exhibition

“…Based on Husserl (cited in Anttila, 2006), this reduction in phenomenology means becoming aware of the unexpressed mechanisms that direct the researcher's thinking and action. Faulkner (2017) and Fitzpatrick and Reilly (2019) speak about the use of process-oriented craft to explore reality, create something new, disrupt usual ways of thinking, and create embodied experience.…”

“…Traditional local knowledge with long historic roots is a valuable form of cultural heritage for contemporary culture, and traditional crafting skills and various purposes for handcrafting finds new meanings in the generational chain (Härkönen et al, 2018). Passed down from one generation to the next as an embodied practice, crafting is a social process for empowerment, action, and expression (Fitzpatrick & Reilly, 2019). My roots are in Central Lapland in Finland where knitting has been a commonly mastered skill for generations, and it is still taught in schools, so my two sons also know how to knit.…”

“…I have continued my mother's and grandmother's knitting enthusiasm in using the craft as a medium for my artistic expression. People have gathered together for centuries to share their stories through crafting to construct beauty, meaning, and culture from whatever they had on hand (Fitzpatrick & Reilly, 2019). Knitting circles have long traditions, and they are often connected to charity work and to religious life.…”

“…This mutual activity of bodily making seemed to help the memories flow and to help people socialize with strangers. Fitzpatrick and Reilly (2019) remark that when craft-making practices are employed in the research process, they can provide a significant way to tap into hidden stories that reside in our bodies and in our pasts and that shape our current understandings and positions. This philosophy is in line with the ABER method.…”

Learning-by-making as a Tool for Provoking Placemaking Initiatives in Yakutsk, North-Eastern Siberia

“…My data were generated through dialogic participation, observation, and documentation of the art performance at Tate Liverpool. To gain knowledge, especially on crafting as action, I utilised the theoretical studies of Making as Method (Fitzpatrick & Reilly, 2019) that discusses crafting as an embodied knowledge and seeks its innovative uses in research.…”